Eight Belles

News, Articles, Videos and other content about Eight Belles

The action proved fast and furious early in the fourth session of Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s June sale of 2-year-olds in training and horses of racing under tack preview June 11 at Ocala Training Center.

Godolphin Racing's recent maiden winner All Hands, a full brother to ill-fated Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles, is to make his stakes debut in the $100,000 Federico Tesio for 3-year-olds April 18 at Pimlico Race Course.

Rick Porter has seen both Hard Spun and Eight Belles finish second in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). He's hoping Normandy Invasion can make his patented late run to get to the Derby wire first.

16-year old Maria Rose Michalak's book, Eight Belles: Triumph Beyond the Wire cronicles Eight Belles' days as a foal, as well as her lineage, training, and racing career, and also recounts the positive changes that have occurred in Thoroughbred racing as a result of Eight Belles' death.

The rush to improve safety since Eight Belles was euthanized at last year's Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I) did little to curb the number of horses dying at American racetracks in 2008, The Associated Press found in a national count.

In the opinion of her breeder and co-owner, Dolphus Morrison, Kentucky Oaks morning-line favorite Rachel Alexandra "could have been competitive" in the Run for the Roses, but he said he "didn't have a fleeting thought" of running her against the boys.

Old Fashioned sustained a non-displaced slab fracture of his right knee during his second-place effort in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (gr. II) at Oaklawn Park April 11 and will miss the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).

Join Trainer Larry Jones as he answers questions like: Tell about how your two leading Kentucky Derby contenders Old Fashioned and Friesan Fire are doing and what the plans are for them between now and the first Saturday in May.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association announced Dec. 31 that Billy Reed, long time sports writer and columnist, has won the 2008 Media Eclipse Award for Writing in the News/Commentary category for his column "A Rose for Eight Belles."

The 2008 Thoroughbred racing season produced a host of great memories, and HorseRacing TV's news magazine show "Inside Information," provides a comprehensive recap of the sport's most indellible storylines in the season's final episode.

The Turf Publicists of America announced Nov. 12 that Larry Jones, trainer of the 3-year-old fillies Proud Spell and Eight Belles, has been chosen as the 2008 winner of the organization's Big Sport of Turfdom award.

The opening session of the Keeneland November breeding stock sale generated some fireworks, but the results were a lot less spectacular than in 2007 when the gross revenue ($109,064,000) and the number of horses sold for $1 million or more apiece (28) established world Thoroughbred auction records for a single sale session. Also last year, Playful Act set a $10.5-million world mark for a broodmare or broodmare prospect, which since has been eclipsed by Better Than Honour's $14-million price.

Rick Porter of Fox Hill Farms has hired Jeff Barkley as his private trainer, beginning a transition resulting from trainer Larry Jones' recent announcement that he will wind down his operation and retire.

Away, the dam of the ill-fated Eight Belles, has been entered in the Keeneland November breeding stock sale. An 11-year-old daughter of Dixieland Band, Away is Hip No. 271 and will be offered during the auction's opening session Nov. 3 in Lexington. She is in foal to Eight Belles's sire, Unbridled's Song.

Trainer Larry Jones, who earlier this year saddled Proud Spell to win the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) and the following day had ill-fated Eight Belles finish second in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), said he plans to retire by the end of 2009.

With more than 200 people in attendance, this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) runner-up Eight Belles was memorialized in a public ceremony in the garden of the Kentucky Derby Museum Sept. 7.

Eight Belles, who had to be euthanized on the Churchill Downs racetrack shortly after finishing second in this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), will be memorialized in a ceremony Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. in the Kentucky Derby Museum's gardens.

Support for a proposed national strategic plan for equine welfare and safety and other reforms will be sought Sept. 12 when the National Thoroughbred Racing Association brings together industry representatives for discussion and -- it hopes -- commitment to action.

This year's second-place Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) finisher Eight Belles will be memorialized in a ceremony open to the public Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. in the Kentucky Derby Museum's gardens.

Two horses in the care of Larry Jones at Delaware Park were mysteriously found turned out from their stalls on consecutive recent nights, leading to the firing of an employee of the trainer and an investigation by track officials.

Members of a Congressional subcommittee looking into practices of the horse racing and breeding industries began a hearing June 19 with warnings that they need to get their house in order to ward off government involvement.

As the House Subcommittee on Commerce and Consumer Protection prepared for a June 19 hearing on the horseracing industry, groups continued to weigh in on various issues, including use of anabolic steroids in racehorses.

The United States House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection has scheduled a hearing -- "Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: The State of Thoroughbred Horseracing and the Welfare of the Thoroughbred Racehorse" -- for June 19 in Washington, D.C.

Eight Belles, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) but suffered a catastrophic injury moments after the race, will be honored by Churchill Downs Inc. through a series of charitable contributions and initiatives, including the interment of her remains at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

Though it has no regulatory oversight of equine health and safety, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has adopted a resolution saying it supports the state's efforts to "invest in horse health and welfare."

The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of UPS, has given a $10,000 grant to Thoroughbred Charities of America to honor Eight Belles, who suffered a fatal breakdown after her second place finish to Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).

Jockeys honored the memory of Eight Belles by wearing stickers on their boots or mud pants May 16 and 17 at Pimlico, which was hosting the 133rd running of the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) and a variety of other graded races.

On May 17, the jockeys at Pimlico wore patches on their boots to honor Eight Belles. Each time the television networks showed a replay of Big Brown's latest performance, the late runner's image filled the frame. And when Buy the Barrel took the $150,000 Allaire DuPont Distaff Handicap (gr. II) for trainer Larry Jones and jockey Gabriel Saez, we were reminded of Eight Belles once again.

About 25 supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals staged a quiet demonstration outside the gates of Pimlico Race Course May 17, but horseracing enthusiasts -- and fans of the Preakness experience -- weren't as reserved.